HMS ''Hermione'' (F58) was a ''Leander''-class frigate of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

(RN). She was, like the rest of her class, named after a figure of mythology. ''Hermione'' was built by

Alexander Stephen and Sons Alexander Stephen and Sons Limited, often referred to simply as Alex Stephens or just Stephens, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Linthouse, Glasgow, on the River Clyde and, initially, on the east coast of Scotland. History The comp ...

, though she was completed by

Yarrow Shipbuilders Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also o ...

. She was launched on 26 April 1967 and commissioned on 11 July 1969.

Operational service

In 1970, ''Hermione'' deployed to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

and

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

visiting a variety of places and performing a number of duties. ''Hermione'' became quite used to such warm climates during the 1970s. In 1977 ''Hermione'', as leader of the 5th Frigate Squadron, took part in the

Fleet Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

of the Royal Navy, in celebration of HM the Queen's Silver Jubilee.Official Souvenir Programme, 1977. ''Silver Jubilee Fleet Review'', HMSO In January 1980, ''Hermione'' began her modernisation programme, which included the addition of the

Sea Wolf missile The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of water, body of saline water, salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote List of seas, second-order sections of ...

and the

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...

anti-ship missile, which forced the removal of ''Hermione's'' twin 4.5 in guns. The modernisation was completed in 1983 at

Chatham Naval Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

, and ''Hermione'' was the last ship to leave when the dockyard closed. Upon the completion of her modernisation, ''Hermione'' joined the 8th Frigate Squadron. ''Hermione'' saw service in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, also being involved in the so-called '

Tanker War The Tanker War was a protracted series of armed skirmishes between Iran and Iraq against merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz from 1984 to 1988. The conflict was a part of the larger Iran–Iraq War. Background Prior to 1 ...

' during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...

. In 1991, ''Hermione'' returned to the Middle East on an Armilla Patrol deployment, but in the following year ''Hermione'' was decommissioned and in 1997 she was sold to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

for scrap. The ship also enjoyed fame on

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

TV, through starring as " HMS ''Hero''" in the acclaimed drama series ''

Warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

''. All members of the crew were given " HMS ''Hero''" cap tallies for filming purposes. The main ship used for filming was, however, HMS ''Phoebe''.

Notable commanders

Notable commanders of the ship include

Robert Squires Vice Admiral Robert Risley Squires DL (11 February 1927 – 30 June 2016) was a Royal Navy officer who became Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Naval career Squires joined the Royal Navy as a sub-lieutenant in 1946. He was giv ...

(1971),

Peter Stanford Peter James Stanford (born 23 November 1961) is an English writer, editor, journalist and presenter, known for his biographies and writings on religion and ethics. His biography of Lord Longford was the basis for the 2006 BAFTA-winning film '' ...

(1974–75) and

John McAnally Vice Admiral John Henry Stuart McAnally, (born 9 April 1945) is a former Royal Navy officer who served as Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies from 1998 to 2001. He was educated at Willington School in Putney and then Westminst ...

(1989).

References

Publications

* * Marriott, Leo, 1983. ''Royal Navy Frigates 1945-1983'', Ian Allan Ltd, Surrey.

External links

HMS Hermione Association website

British Film Institute site on ''Warship''

Royal Navy leaflet on ''Warship'', from the HMS Phoebe Association website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermione (F58) Leander-class frigates 1967 ships